The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose: Vana Parva, Part 1
Religion
The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose: Vana Parva, Part 1
Epic literature, Sanskrit
Vaisampayana said, "Those bulls among men, collecting the produce of the
wilderness and killing the deer with pure arrows, first dedicated a
portion of the food to the Brahmanas, and themselves ate the rest. For,
O king, while those heroes wielding large bows lived in the woods, they
were followed by Brahmanas of both classes, _viz_., those worshipping
with fire and those worshipping without it. And there were ten thousand
illustrious _Snataka_ Brahmanas, all conversant with the means of
salvation, whom Yudhishthira supported in the woods. And killing with
arrows _Rurus_ and the black deer and other kinds of clean animals of
the wilderness, he gave them unto those Brahmanas. And no one that lived
with Yudhishthira looked pale or ill, or was lean or weak, or was
melancholy or terrified. And the chief of the Kurus--the virtuous king
Yudhishthira--maintained his brothers as if they were his sons, and his
relatives as if they were his uterine brothers. And Draupadi of pure
fame fed her husbands and the Brahmanas, as if she was their mother; and
last of all took her food herself. And the king himself wending towards
the east, and Bhima, towards the south, and the twins, towards the west
and the north, daily killed with bow in hand the deer of the forest, for
the sake of meat. And it was that the Pandavas lived for five years in
the woods of _Kamyaka_, in anxiety at the absence of Arjuna, and engaged
all the while in study and prayers and sacrifices."
SECTION LI
Vaisampayana said, "That bull among men--Dhritarashtra--the son of
Amvika, having heard of this wonderful way of life--so above that of
men--of the sons of Pandu, was filled with anxiety and grief. And
overwhelmed with melancholy and sighing heavily and hot, that monarch,
addressing his charioteer Sanjaya, said, 'O charioteer, a moment's peace
I have not, either during the day or the night, thinking of the terrible
misbehaviour of my sons arising out of their past gambling, and thinking
also of the heroism, the patience, the high intelligence, the unbearable
prowess, and the extraordinary love unto one another of the sons of
Pandu. Amongst the Pandavas, the illustrious Nakula and Sahadeva, of
celestial origin and equal unto the chief himself of the celestials in
splendour, are invincible in battle. They are firm in the wielding of
weapons, capable of shooting at a long distance, resolute in battle, of
remarkable lightness of hand, of wrath that is not easily quelled,
possessed of great steadiness, and endued with activity. Possessed of
the prowess of lions and unbearable as the Aswins themselves, when they
will come to the field of battle with Bhima and Arjuna in front, I see,
O Sanjaya, that my soldiers will all be slain without a remnant. Those
mighty warriors of celestial origin, unrivalled in battle by anybody,
filled with rage at the remembrance of that insult to Draupadi, will
show no forgiveness. The mighty warriors of the Vrishnis also, and the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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